Passage Reading and English Comprehension

Old woman," grumbled the burly white man who had just heard Sojourner Truth speak, "do you think your talk about slavery does any good? I don't care any more for your talk than I do for the bite of a flea."

The tall, imposing black woman turned her piercing eyes on him. "Perhaps not," she answered, "but I'll keep you scratching."

The little incident of the 1840s sums up all that Sojourner Truth was: utterly dedicated to spreading her message, afraid of no one, and both forceful and witty in speech.

Yet 40 years earlier, who could have suspected that a spindly slave girl growing up in a damp cellar in upstate New York would become one of the most remarkable women in American history? Her name then was Isabella Baumfree, and by the time she was 14 years old she had seen both parents die of cold and hunger. She herself had been sold several times. By 1827, when New York freed its slaves, she had married and given birth to four children.

The first hint of Isabella's fighting spirit came soon afterwards, when her youngest son was illegally seized and sold. She marched to the courthouse and badgered officials until her son was returned to her.

In 1843, inspired by religion, she changed her name to Sojourner (meaning "one who stays briefly") Truth and, with only pennies in her purse, set out to preach against slavery. From New England to Minnesota she trekked, gaining a reputation for her plain but powerful and moving words. Incredibly, despite being black and female (only white males were expected to be public speakers), she drew thousands to town halls, tents, and churches to hear her powerful, deep-voiced pleas on equality for blacks-and for women. Often she had to face threatening hoodlums. Once she stood before armed bullies and sang a hymn to them. Awed by her courage and her commanding presence, they sheepishly retreated.

During the Civil War she cared for homeless ex-slaves in Washington, D.C. President Lincoln invited her to the White House to bestow praise on her. Later, she petitioned Congress to help former slaves get land in the West. Even in her old age, she forced the city of Washington, D.C. to integrate its trolley cars so that black and white passengers could ride together.

Shortly before her death at the age of 86, she was asked what kept her going. "I think of the great things," replied Sojourner.

1313. The imposing black woman promised to keep the white man...

	(a) Searching
	(b) Crying
	(c) Hollering
	(d) Scratching

1314. This incident occurred in the...

	(a) 1760s
	(b) 1900s
	(c) 1840s
	(d) 1700s

1315. Sojourner Truth was raised in a damp cellar in...

	(a) New York
	(b) Georgia
	(c) New Jersey
	(d) Idaho

1316. Isabella lost both parents by the time she was...

	(a) 27 years old
	(b) 2 years old
	(c) 7 years old
	(d) 14 years old

1317. When New York freed its slaves, Isabella had...

	(a) Problems
	(b) No children
	(c) Four children
	(d) An education

1318. Her change in name was inspired by...

	(a) A fighting spirit
	(b) Religion
	(c) Her freedom
	(d) Officials

1319. She traveled from New England to...

	(a) Canada
	(b) California
	(c) Minnesota
	(d) Alaska

1320. She forced the city of Washington, D.C. to...

	(a) Integrate its trolleys
	(b) Give land grants
	(c) Care for ex-slaves
	(d) Provide food for ex-slaves

1321. She preached against...

	(a) Smoking
	(b) Slavery
	(c) Alcohol
	(d) Hoodlums

TOTAL

Detailed Solution

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80
81	82	83	84	85	86	87	88	89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	100
101	102	103	104	105	106	107	108	109	110	111	112	113	114	115	116	117	118	119	120
121	122	123	124	125	126	127	128	129	130	131	132	133	134	135	136	137	138	139	140
141	142	143	144	145	146	147	148	149	150	151	152	153	154	155	156	157	158	159	160
161	162	163	164	165	166	167	168	169	170	171	172	173	174	175	176	177	178	179	180
181	182	183	184	185	186	187	188	189	190	191	192	193	194	195	196	197	198	199	200
201	202	203	204	205	206	207	208	209	210	211	212	213	214	215	216	217	218	219	220
221	222	223	224	225	226	227	228	229	230	231	232	233	234	235	236	237	238	239	240
241	242	243	244	245	246	247	248	249	250	251	252	253	254	255	256	257	258	259	260
261	262	263	264	265	266	267	268	269	270	271	272	273	274	275	276	277	278	279	280
281	282	283	284	285	286	287	288	289	290	291	292	293	294	295	296	297	298	299	300
301	302	303	304	305	306	307	308	309	310	311	312	313	314	315	316	317	318	319	320
321	322	323	324	325	326	327	328	329	330	331	332	333	334	335	336	337	338	339	340
341	342	343	344	345	346	347	348	349	350	351	352	353	354	355	356	357	358	359	360
361	362	363	364	365	366	367	368	369	370	371	372	373	374	375	376	377	378	379	380
381	382	383	384	385	386	387	388	389	390	391	392	393	394	395	396	397	398	399	400
401	402	403	404	405	406	407	408	409	410	411	412	413	414	415	416	417	418	419	420
421	422	423	424	425	426	427	428	429	430	431	432	433	434	435	436	437	438	439	440
441	442	443	444	445	446	447	448	449	450	451	452	453	454	455	456	457	458	459	460
461	462	463	464	465	466	467	468	469	470	471	472	473	474	475	476	477	478	479	480
481	482	483	484	485	486	487	488	489	490	491	492	433	494	495	496	497	498	499	500

Passage Reading Verbal Logic Non Verbal Logic Numerical Logic Data Interpretation Reasoning Analytical Ability Basic Numeracy About Us Contact Privacy Policy Major Tests FAQ

---